Menu

Author: The Style Room

Researcher and fashion enthusiast. After years of observing fashion, and especially plus - size fashion from the side lines, I decided it was time for me to get off the bench and seize my niche. If you're a curvier girl whose ever looked at Maggie Gyllenhaal in the Honourable Woman, Olivia Pope in Scandal, or Tea Leoni in Madam Secretary and thought, "why should it be impossible for me to dress like that?", follow me. Let's go together in search of great fitting trousers, truly wearable heels, and badass blazers to wear with our glasses.

Greetings, ladies! I hope you’re ready for a few changes here at TSR. I spent this past weekend cranking out content, having some fabulous pictures taken by a dear friend, and building a new, sleeker looking site. For you guys, that means a better interface, more regular content, and OUTFIT POSTS! (finally) Big thanks to all of you that have been reading during this “soft opening” phase and welcome to those of you who are just joining us! The new site is live at thestyleroomdc.weebly.com and check it tomorrow for a brand new post. Thanks!

Howdy Readers! I want to wax poetic about menswear for a second. It would seem obvious that menswear styling has to play a part in career wear, but bear with the nerd for a second and let her define terms. Menswear-inspired details are what take work wear from just the pants, shirt and jacket you have to wear Monday to Friday to an outfit that you feel powerful in. If you look at those ladies up there from left to right, their interpretations of the suit are very different and work to suit their personalities. (I can’t promise that will be the last suit – related pun) It can be really tricky to find a good suit, and because I am annoyingly picky, I have not found mine yet, though it’s in the works quite literally.

The bottom row in the Polyvore set are some of my favorite menswear – inspired items that are constantly in my rotation and are a good way to experiment with this aesthetic before you commit to a full suit and tie.

…at a Republican fundraiser in Northern New Jersey. Not my first choice for a night out I assure you. But, sometimes your social life reaches a point where you agree to eat chili and hang out with old white guys in a multi – purpose room. Honestly, I’ve found myself at worse parties.

Normally I’m a little uptight about dress codes, but when I don’t have a good read on one, I just have to wing it. Chic but dark like my soul usually does the trick:

I apologize in advance that this is how my outfit posts have to be for the moment. I’m working on my photo game I swear guys.

The top is a sale find from Banana Republic (you can’t see, but it’s got a surplice back to show just a hint of skin) No luck finding a similar one, sorry kittens.

After a stressful week interviewing for an analyst position through trial by fire – that is, by actually trying my hand at some analysis, I was a little fried this morning. But, with nothing scheduled, I took the time to re-charge by working on The Style Room and applying a fresh coat of paint. Call me a basic biddie, but red nails make me feel like myself again, not to mention a little vampy and badass. Links to the nail goodies I use are below…

Eve Snow London Elderflower cuticle oil; this was a Valentine’s Day gift from my amazing sister-in-law. Two applications and my cuticles have gone from jagged rocks to silky smooth. She has impeccable taste you guys, it’s infuriating. You can get it here.

I love Sinful Colors polishes; I know there are lots of prettier bottles out there, I can’t bring myself to spend $20 for a nail polish. I find that with good base and top coats, the cheapies work just fine. Amazon has a great selection of these.

Since I save on the polish, I go for slightly better tops and bottoms. Seche Vite base coat and Sally Hansen Insta – Dri are my go tos You can get either at any drugstore or online at Amazon.

First things first, Happy Friday! I wanted to update you guys on what I have in store for TSR (that’s a new acronym for my blog I just made up. you’re welcome) in the coming weeks.

Outfit posts: I’ve been dying to do some outfit posts with pieces I’ve already got but, for reasons that I won’t bore you with, my closet is here and there and I don’t have anyone to play photographer for me. So it may be a couple weeks before I’m able to set those up.

Outfit / Big Review post: I’ve got a piece I’m really excited about coming my way early next week, and I can’t wait to share it with you guys on here. I’ll be reviewing the whole experience from ordering to wearing, and hopefully posting some good pics as well, so stay tuned!

Don’t worry, I won’t be leaving you high and dry until outfit posts come through. I’ll be linking to twitter and instagram over the next few days to keep you busy with digital outfit boards, beauty picks, and styling details. If you’re a new reader, you can follow me through the links to my social media. If you’ve stopped by before, thanks! Lovely to see you again!

Button down shirts are one of those things that I will always be searching for. They’re incredibly hard to fit off the rack for non model bodied people, yet are an essential part of your ass – kicking wardrobe. I know lots of women, plus size and fuller busted especially that have given up on the button down. Two things to that point:

Goes without saying that fit is important. Custom is obviously ideal, but even just buying a larger size and tailoring down works great. For custom, check out Sumissura. If you want a large size range so you can buy up and tailor down, make Lane Bryant or ASOS your first stop.

A quick note: for some reason retailers have forgotten that women tend to have smaller upper bodies and wider hips and make these long button downs that taper at the hips. If you’ve got any type of hip or belly, this is not going to work for you, so pay attention to cuts.

As paramount as fit is, if you have to work with off the rack or just have button down issues regardless, also think about fabrics. In my opinion, most button down shirts available off the racks for women are some cotton blend that is stiff and bunchy because of the way the fabric falls, or rather doesn’t. You know how those be-suited ladies on tv always look so calm and collected? They’re button downs aren’t trying to cut off the circulation in their armpits. You can achieve that by wearing a fabric like silk, rayon, satin, or a viscose blend that has a drape. Keep reading…

Some options in a range of prices. As you’ll come to find, I tend to go for sleek neutrals but I’ll try to be more diverse in subsequent posts.

MR is the standard in high – end plus so if the button down is a really important piece for you, go for the splurge if you can. Sadly, Marina Rinaldi does not ship directly to the US at the moment, so you’ll need to purchase through Saks, Shopstyle, or Bloomingdales.